Humming all the trade is or The modern alchymist / T. J. [Jones] fect. – Historic Reproduction
![Humming all the trade is or The modern alchymist / T. J. [Jones] fect., London : Pubd. March 8, 1827 by G. Humphrey, 27 St. James's St., 1827. — antique engraving](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/a2/a2fe12d67a7f-L.webp)
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
This rare antique engraving captures Humming all the trade is or The modern alchymist / T. J. [Jones] fect. in remarkable detail. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.
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Humming all the trade is or The modern alchymist / T. J. [Jones] fect.
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The title, "Humming all the trade is or The modern alchymist," sets the joke at once: the alchemist's old promise of turning base metal into gold is recast as a financier's sales pitch. G. Humphrey published the engraving in London on March 8, 1827, from his shop on St. James's Street. The inscription credits T. J. Jones as its maker, though the surname appears in brackets, which suggests cataloguers supplied it. The print belongs to the stream of satire aimed at the speculative boom of the mid-1820s, when joint-stock companies and foreign loans drew many investors and then collapsed into the financial crisis of 1825 and 1826. The word "humming," which can mean both lively and deceptive, may point to the humbug such schemes sold to ordinary buyers.
| Created / published | London : Pubd. March 8, 1827 by G. Humphrey, 27 St. James's St., 1827. |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print : engraving. |
| Genre | Cartoons (Commentary) British 1820-1830.Engravings 1820-1830. |
| Notes | This record contains unverified data from George. Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum / by Mary Dorothy George, v. 10, no. 15450 Forms part of: British Cartoon Prints Collection (Library of Congress). |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,536 × 1,108 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-114118 |
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